Leading video game academics ready up for public discussion
Video game experts from across the region will take to the stage this month for a public discussion around gaming and the future of the industry.
New Level Unlocked: Discovering the Story of Video Games will consider why people enjoy playing games, what they tell us about ourselves, and how they manipulate and persuade us.
The event, organised by the University of Exeter, will feature experts from its Department of English and Creative Writing, as well as some of their counterparts from the Universities of Bristol, Plymouth and Bath Spa.
Staged at Exeter Phoenix on 24 June, it will be hosted by Dr Thomas Rawlings, Co-Founder and Director of Bristol Games Hub.
“There are an increasing number of academics incorporating gaming into their research,” says Catherine Hurcombe, Regional Engagement Assistant. “We saw this as a good opportunity to engage with the public, given the levels of interest in the subject as more and more people find ways to play, whether in online worlds or through retro technologies that appeal to their sense of nostalgia.”
The event has been orchestrated by Exeter’s Public Engagement with Research team to explore the nature of ‘serious games’ and support the Creative Industries more broadly.
Exeter experts Dr Amy Cutler and Dr Rob Sherman – co-leads on the new Masters degree on Interactive Storytelling Design: Video Games and Beyond – will both be on stage, joining Professor James Newman (Bath Spa), Dr Richard Cole, (Bristol), and Dr James Sweeting (Plymouth).
There will be a panel talk and audience Q&A, exploring a range of topics including what makes a video game, why we enjoy them, and why research into them is a growing field of academic interest.
“One of the exciting things with bringing this group of researchers and speakers together is that we’re not looking at how games and gaming depict ideas and realities, but how they actually shape those ideas and realities,” says Dr Cutler. “This spans our real-world pasts and possible futures, to complex investigations of politics, memory, grief, and identity.”
“We’re interested in how academic research into games connects to their role as very popular (and very publicly visible) entertainment,” adds Dr Sherman. “People who enjoy games may not know about the academic work that has made them what they are today, and that is shaping their future. Often, this means engaging critically with ‘accepted wisdom’ about the form, even if that means uncomfortable conversations about games as an art form.”
New Level Unlocked: Discovering the Story of Video Games starts at 6.30pm on Wednesday, 24 June. To reserve a place, visit Eventbrite.
